The present invention is directed to product containment and dispensing packages, and to methods of filling the packages with product and then closing the packages after filling. The invention is directed more particularly to a package and method of the described character that are particularly well suited for hot-fill and retort applications.
Product containment and dispensing packages conventionally include a container having a fill/dispensing opening, and a closure threadably secured to the container finish closing the fill/dispensing opening. In the manufacture and filling of packages of this type, the containers and closures are typically shipped separately to a product packager, perhaps by different suppliers. The containers are filled with product by the packager in an automated or manual filling operation, and the closures are then applied to the containers, again either automatically or manually, to complete the packages. The closures may alternatively be applied to the containers when the containers and closures are supplied to the packager. This alternative reduces inventory at the packager, but requires the extra step of removing the closure prior to filling the container, followed by reapplication of the closure after filling.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide a container and closure package, and a method of filling such a package, that address one or more of the following objectives: reducing costs associated with handling and filling of containers at the packaging facility by providing a container and closure package that can be filled and closed at increased speed, using less equipment and less labor; reducing or eliminating leakage of product around the container finish; accommodating addition of promotional information or the like on the container package without requiring re-tooling of the container or closure; affecting a seal between the container and the closure prior to filling; utilizing a barrier material to reduce permeation of gases, such as carbon dioxide and oxygen, water vapor or flavorants of food products, through the closure; and/or using deformation of the closure seal to indicate presence of a vacuum in the package.
A container and closure package in accordance with presently preferred embodiments of the invention includes a container having a body with a finish surrounding a fill/dispensing opening, and a closure having a perpherial skirt removably secured to the container finish. The closure has a base wall with a fill opening aligned with the fill/dispensing opening in the container when the closure is secured to the container, and a recessed ledge surrounding the fill opening. A seal is provided at the underside of the base wall in sealing engagement with the fill/dispensing opening of the container. A disk, which closes the fill opening of the closure, has an electrically conductive layer and is induction or conduction fusion welded to the ledge.
In the disclosed embodiments of the invention, the seal between the underside of the closure and the fill/dispensing opening in the container may include an annular gasket captured between the edge of the container finish and the underside of the closure base wall, which may be secured to the closure base wall, or an annular wall depending from the base wall and spaced radially inwardly from the closure skirt for internal plug-sealing engagement with an inside diameter of the fill/dispensing opening in the container. The disk over the closure fill opening is preferably of laminated construction, having an underlayer of plastic and an electrically conductive layer adjacent to the underlayer for induction or conduction heating the underlayer and melt-fusion bonding the underlayer to the ledge. Other layers of the disk may include one or more barrier materials to prevent migration of gases (e.g., oxygen or carbon dioxide), water vapor and/or flavorants through the disk. Upper layers of the disk may be provided with advertising or promotional information, which may be readily changed without retooling the entire closure. The disk is preferably of uniform thickness and sufficiently flexible that the disk flexes axially inwardly with respect to the base wall to indicate presence of a vacuum in the package.
A method of filling a container and closure package in accordance with another aspect of the invention includes providing a container having a body with a finish surrounding a fill/dispensing opening and a closure removably secured to the finish. The closure has a base wall with a fill opening aligned with the fill/dispensing opening in the container, and a recessed ledge surrounding the fill opening. The container is filled with product through the fill opening in the closure and the fill/dispensing opening in the container, and a disk is then non-removably secured against the recessed ledge of the closure to seal the package. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the disk is non-removably secured to the recessed ledge by fusion welding, preferably by providing an electrically conductive layer on the disk and induction or conduction welding the disk to the ledge on the closure.